Space

Images from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory highlight the appearance of the Sun at solar minimum (left, Dec. 2019) versus solar maximum (right, April 2014).

Science

A New Sun Cycle Promises Relatively Calm Space Weather For The Next Decade

5:13pm September 15, 2020

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The sun can affect people's electronics, the power grid and communications and navigation systems. But scientists predict that for the next decade or so, the Sun's activity will not be too disruptive.

The images used to create this view of Venus were acquired by the Mariner 10 craft on Feb. 7 and 8, 1974. Decades after the Mariner 2 flew by the planet in 1962, much about the planet remains unknown.

Science

A Possible Sign Of Life Right Next Door To Earth, On Venus

3:50pm September 14, 2020

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Scientists have found a gas associated with living organisms in a region of Venus' atmosphere. They can't figure out how it got there if it didn't come from life.

Queue Listen Now

China may have landed a new space plane on Sept. 6 at this secretive air base, located in China in the desert near an old nuclear testing ground.

New Chinese Space Plane Landed At Mysterious Air Base, Evidence Suggests

6:39pm September 09, 2020

by Geoff Brumfiel

The mission took place this past weekend, shrouded in secrecy, but some clues are emerging about what China sent into space, and why.

Queue Listen Now

Romanesco broccoli, as seen by a 3.2 billion pixel camera. Scientists chose to take a picture of the broccoli because of its fractal shape.

Science

California Scientists Build A Camera To Take Pictures Of Huge Swath Of Sky

7:54am September 09, 2020

by Joe Palca

Scientists and engineers in California are building a unique 3.2 billion pixel camera for a telescope under construction in Chile. The camera has taken its first test pictures — of broccoli.

Queue Listen Now

The mouse on the right has been engineered to have four times the muscle mass of a normal lab mouse. A drug to achieve the same effect was recently tested in space.

Drug That Bulked Up Mice In Space Might Someday Help Astronauts Make Long Voyages

3:50pm September 08, 2020

by Jon Hamilton

An experiment involving some "mighty mice" on the International Space Station could someday help astronauts maintain muscle and bone strength on interplanetary journeys.

Queue Listen Now

An STS-125 crew member onboard the space shuttle Atlantis snaps a still photo of the Hubble Space Telescope following grapple of the giant observatory by the shuttle.

Science

The Hubble Space Telescope Still Works Great — Except When It Doesn't

1:39pm September 08, 2020

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

None of us is perfect, and sometimes the Hubble Space Telescope just flat-out points to the wrong spot in the sky. This has been happening more than ever in the last couple of years.

Queue Listen Now

Science

Researchers Find A Drug That Could Allow Astronauts Spend Years In Space

4:46pm September 07, 2020

by Jon Hamilton

An experimental drug let mice spend a month in the International Space Station's near-zero gravity without losing mass. It could help people spend years in space without major health consequences.

Queue Listen Now

The Pacific Ocean from space. In both liquid and frozen form, water covers most of the Earth's surface, and there's been a debate among scientists about where all the water originated.

Water, Water, Every Where — And Now Scientists Know Where It Came From

5:41pm August 27, 2020

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Some unusual meteorites suggest that Earth got its water at its start, rather than forming dry and being watered by comets later on.

Queue Listen Now

Science

Where Did Earth's Water Come From?

4:19pm August 27, 2020

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Scientists have long debated whether the Earth's water was here when the planet formed or whether it arrived later. A study suggests much of the water originated in rocks from which Earth is built.

The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico is seen after Hurricane Maria hit it in September 2017.

Science

Puerto Rico's Arecibo Radio Telescope Damaged By Falling Cable

7:44pm August 12, 2020

by Scott Neuman

The cable tore a gaping 100-foot hole in one of the largest radio telescope dishes in the world, taking the instrument offline until repairs can be made.